Orthodontic ligatures, dental separating rings and synthetic elastics, collectively referred to herein as "dental elastics," are widely employed to selectively interconnect various orthodontic and dental appliances (e.g., orthodontic brackets, wire, springs and accessories), as may be determined to be appropriate by practitioners on a case-by-case basis. Such elastics are generally toroidally-shaped and fabricated from resilient materials.
While early elastics were individually cut from surgical latex tubing, elastics are now generally molded and integrally interconnected to a "stick" carrier, wherein the number of ligatures on a stick is sufficient to fulfill the requirements for a given patient visit. In this regard, the packaging of elastics has been driven by greater awareness of infection control and sterilization requirements, wherein any elastics on a stick that are not utilized in conjunction with a given patient visit may be disposed of at a relatively low waste expense.
Typically, the disconnection of elastics from a stick carrier is accomplished by grasping an elastic with a placement tool and pulling the elastic away from the stick. As will be appreciated, such a procedure can stretch and thereby damage the elastics (e.g., due to permanent deformation effects), thereby adversely impacting the intended performance. Further, handling of an elastic via manipulation of a placement tool (i.e., to establish proper grasping of the elastic for installation) can be tedious for dental and orthodontic practitioners.